IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals Predicted Playing XI Against Kolkata Knight Riders

Delhi Capitals finished the league stage of IPL 2021 atop the points table with 10 wins from 14 games. But Rishabh Pant and Co. faced a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

However, for the reason that they finished in the top two, the Capitals will get another chance to qualify for the final to be played on October 15. Pant’s men will next face the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Qualifier 2 on Wednesday, October 13 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

KKR, led by Eoin Morgan, would be brimming with confidence after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator on Monday. As far as DC are concerned, it remains to be seen if they make any changes to their playing eleven after their loss against CSK.

Here’s the DC Predicted XI for the DC vs KKR match

Openers – Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan

There’s no reason why the Capitals should tinker with their opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Dhawan has been their standout batter in the IPL thus far, having scored 551 runs with three half-centuries and a decent strike rate of 127.54. His partner, Shaw, is also in excellent form.

Shaw must be high on confidence after scoring 60 against the Super Kings last time around. Prior to that, he also got 48 versus the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The fact that he has scored 461 runs at a strike rate of 159.51 shows that he has been able to take the Capitals off to fliers in the powerplay.

Middle-order- Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer

The middle-order is a blend of power and sheer class. Shreyas Iyer couldn’t get going in the previous game, but he’s capable of making it count in the crunch game. After coming back from the injury, the right-hander has scored 145 runs from seven innings, although he is yet to score a half-century.

Shimron Hetmyer is in excellent touch, having gotten useful scores in the 20s and 30s over the last three games or so. Pant, on the contrary, will be going into the game after an unbeaten 51-run knock against CSK. All three batters- Iyer, Pant and Hetmyer- need to contribute in the must-win game.

All-rounder- Axar Patel, Tom Curran

Left-armer Axar Patel has arguably been the standout spinner for the Capitals in the 2021 IPL. In 11 games, he has picked up 15 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.52. Albeit he doesn’t extract too much turn from the surface, he maintains a tight line and length to keep the batters in check.

Tom Curran, the other all-rounder, has played only three games and has had his moments. In the game against CSK, he picked up three wickets, but couldn’t finish off well. MS Dhoni hit him for three fours in a row in the last over of CSK’s run-chase. Curran is also more than handy with the bat.

Bowlers- Ravi Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje

Ravi Ashwin’s form with the ball is a bit of a concern. The off-spinner has picked up only five wickets from 12 games. But with an economy rate of 7.44, he hasn’t let batters rip him into shreds. He can also be a useful prospect with the bat as he showed during a match against the Mumbai Indians.

Anrich Nortje has been excellent as he bowled at under a run-a-ball and has picked up 10 wickets from seven games. Avesh Khan has had a couple of rough outings, but he remains the leading wicket-taker for DC with 23 scalps. Kagiso Rabada has picked up 13 wickets from 14 games.